What Dying is Like

A Story by Theo

Have you wondered what happens after death? First of all, there is no after.

You've come to the end of your life. It was sooner than you expected, but oh well. The fates don't discriminate. The world lied to you. The end is barely the beginning. Don't be afraid of death, but be aware that it is startlingly similar to life.

After all that noise and confusion that was your life, Death will seem like a whole different beast. You have no idea. Don't worry about your looks, they don't matter. Don't worry about the bullet holes in your chest or the lacerations around your eyes. The physical you is about to change; you won't ever see it again in this form. Be more concerned about why you were killed. This will give your mind something to do for a little while. When your neighbor found out, he seemed mad. Not mad enough, considering what happened. You should be worried about him. Did you think the worst was over just because you died? So did everyone else.

As soon as your heart stops beating, the plunge begins. In terms you can understand, it's like falling into water. This water is like sludge; it's black and heavy and completely invisible. It reminds you of the tar pool you fell into as a child. You won't be able to see it or feel it. Make no mistake, it's there. The organs you no longer need starts to be crushed. This you feel. The pain is intense, more so than being shot. It lasts forever but is over in about an hour.

Past the water, there lies the stone. This is just like the water, but thicker. You fall into it and break the bones in your lower body. Again, excruciating pain. Before you are ready to consider dealing with the aches, it continue. You probably won't notice the brief reprieve as your powdered lower half sinks into the stone. The bones that didn't break on contact break now, as you descend. No, you won't become so overcome with pain that you pass out. That is a living defense mechanism, one you can no longer claim. Don't give your hopes the food they need to make you feel like it will be over soon. Death is comparable to Life in length and breadth, but it has it beat in intensity. You recall your father saying that "Life is a b***h". Well, Death is a queen.

When you pass through the final layers of stone you hit a weightlessness. Your organs and bones are gone, but a lot remains. The weightlessness here gives way quickly to a brazen breeze. The harsh wind goes inside of you. Remember when you used to lift weights at the gym? The wind presses upon your muscles as the mass of metals did then. Unlike then, you are unable to pause your workout to stop the burning. Those muscles aren't going to destroy themselves. You are afraid of the wind and it's painful push. Don't be. Your muscles are one more thing that has to go, and this is the only way to do it. The pains in your outer muscular tissue are felt first. Then the wind flies inside you as you open your mouth. Your throat collapses and the insides of your muscles are harrowed. You want to complain about being thrust into such a new situation so quickly. After all, didn't you just die? Remember: no one who knew anything said Death was a vacation.

Although you didn't feel it, you have been sinking through the wind and weightlessness. By the time you reach the bottom, those beautiful protein-built compounds that attracted so many fine women are gone. Then you reach the Afterthere. Since your mind is still intact, it tells you your poor semblance of a body is going back up. Don't be fooled, you are still going down. You are in the realm of the Afterthere, which is not there but also happens following your current ordeal.

What remains of your precious human body? Something must, or you wouldn't be thinking. What does that say about your precious sciences? Get ready.

The vast fields of the razors are next. Your eyes are gone so you don't see what a beautiful place it is. The vast distances of sharp tools would shimmer in a light if there were one. Suppose these fields have no end, since they don't. The sounds coming from the field are horrendous. The scraping of big metal on metal and the whine of thin blades as they drag across the surface of everything else are tortuous to hear. It is a mercy your ears don't work anymore.

Unfortunately, the skin that holds physical you has to go. With a silent metallic crash you fall into the flinging wonderland of jagged lust. All at once your skin is stripped clean as if piranha are tearing you apart. You feel every blade and every spike as it digs briefly into your hallowed body and comes out again, just to be replaced by another like it. This process takes several minutes as the stubborn flaps of hide that used to hide your innards resist weakly the forces at work against them. You recall that movie, the one with the people being tortured. This is like that but everywhere. Given the circumstances, you no longer feel sorry for those trapped souls.

You think the process must now be done. Your human body is gone and all that remains is your mind. But that's a thing. Things cannot remain, not in Death.

The unperceivable place you are now in is almost indescribable. The mind can feel things, and yours does now. It starts like a trickle of cool water into your thoughts. This chill quickly flashes to boiling hot and back to warm. What has just happened is not apparent. The chill flashes again and it becomes even less apparent. You barely understand me now, but I'll say it anyways. The trickle is erasi-